Pastor Jeff Writes–Learning

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It’s probably no surprise to most of you that I absolutely love learning.  I’ve loved school and education for as long as I can remember.  Oh sure, there were probably days I was less excited about it than others, but overall I loved school.  In fact, one of the things I love about Project Transformation in the summer and in mentoring every week is that I get to help a young person learn and come to love learning like I do.  I love going over multiplication tables and practicing spelling.  I even found a way to connect basketball with math by inventing “math basketball” with a mentee a couple of years ago.  Surprisingly, all of my mentees have enjoyed playing that!

Because I love learning, I am always trying to find ways to learn new things.  I read news websites every morning and scan the headlines for something new to learn.  I watch the amazing videos at TED.com and learn about new inventions, ideas, and designs.  If I see something I didn’t know before, I’ll look it up and dive in.  In that process I’ve learned about a man who  found a way to focus sound waves like lasers focus light.  I’ve learned why Middle Eastern history is so important to the people there and how it impacts the present (and, probably, the future).  I’ve learned about stocks, weather, and, of course, basketball.  If there’s something new to learn, I’m there.

Which is why our series on the Seven Habits of Highly Methodist People has been so much fun for me to prepare.  I’ve known a lot of the basics of United Methodist history for some time.  Part of the reason I went to Duke was to learn from the best John Wesley scholars in the field.  But I’ve enjoyed going back to those books, diving even deeper into what made Wesley tick, and sharing that with you.  The more I learn about John Wesley, it seems, the more I want people to know what an amazing impact he brought to our faith.  I hope this series makes you want to learn more too!

But, as I said in the first sermon in this series, the goal is not to just help us be better Methodists.  That is all well a good but it’s ultimately not what we are called to do.  I want us all to be better Christians, a better community, a better church so that we can be better at building up the kingdom of God.  When people hear “Southern Hills United Methodist” I want them to think about the amazing things we do to transform our world, not just about pumpkins (though I appreciate so much what the Patch has done for us over the years!).

For that transformation to happen, though, I have to learn even more about my own faith, about the Bible, and about how to live the best Christian life I can.  I too have to “aim for perfection,” if I want that of our church as well.  So in 2011, one of the things I have covenanted to do is to be stronger about my quiet times with God.  I’ve kept a regular quiet time since I woke up to the faith about 15 years ago, but at times that time is overrun by other “pressing” needs: phone calls, meetings, etc.  And, at times, it is overrun by my own laziness and selfishness.

But I know that time is hugely important in making me a better Christian and a better pastor.  So I’ve worked in 2011 to be even better about keeping a regular time with God.  And what I’ve learned in that time is amazing!  Lately I’ve been reading in the early chapters of Genesis.  I encourage you to go back and read those first 15 chapters with new eyes.  Try to forget the felt- board stories you learned as a child in Sunday School and go back and re-read these amazing stories.  I guarantee you’ll learn something new as the Holy Spirit shows you new insights on these old favorites.  I know I have learned many things from this reading, from other Scriptures as well as powerful Christian writers.

We are never too old to stop learning new things.  We never “grow out” of education.  In fact, as we grow older, there is never a more important time to keeping our minds fresh.  Scriptures, like God’s mercies, are “new every morning.”  I hope you find the love of learning that I have found in reading those Scriptures.  And I hope that, if we all dive in to those Scriptures together, we will truly be transformed ourselves so that we can help transform our world as God has called us to do.

Peace,

Jeff